India vs Bangladesh First Test at Chittagong

India Bangladesh First Test, Day Five: Chittagong test ends in a draw

May 22, 2007

Bangladesh put up a strong resistance against India in their first Test in Chittagong. Both captain Habibul Bashar and Javed Omar stuck at the crease to take Bangladesh to a position of relative safety. The match is heading towards a possible draw.
Set a victory target of 250, Bangladesh were 32 for one in their second innings at the tea-break of the fifth and final day of the first cricket Test against India here today.
The hosts have a maximum of 36 overs to reach the target after Rahul Dravid declared India's second innings at 100 for six in the rain-truncated match.
Bangladesh opener Sahriyar Nafees (1) was the sole wicket to fall. Nafees made a mess of a flick shot off the bowling of R P Singh and Mahendra Singh Dhoni made no mistake in taking the catch behind the stumps.
Javed Omar (15) and skipper Habibul Bashar (11) were in the middle, with the sparse crowd at the Bir Sreshta Shahid Ruhul Amin stadium eagerly anticipating an explosive final session.

Fast bowler Mashrafe Mortaza denied India an opportunity to enforce the follow on in the Chittagong Test and scored his maiden fifty at this level to take Bangladesh to 238 all out on the fourth day of the rain-marred game.
With the entire 3rd days play washed out, India hoped of bowling out Bangladesh below the follow-on mark after the home side was reeling at 149-8 just before tea.
However, Mortaza ensured that he slammed a brilliant 79 off just 91 balls, including three sixes to take his team to safety.
The speedster, who picked four Indian wickets in the first innings, shared a 77-run partnership with Shahadat Hossain (31).
India had earlier declared their innings on 387 for 8.
At day end, India in the second innings were 44 for 2 in 14 overs with their overall lead being 193.
Fast bowler Shahadat Hossain removed opener Wasim Jaffer for a duck and skipper Rahul Dravid for just 2 runs to reduce India to 6 for 2 in the 5th over.
However, opener Dinesh Kaarthick (15) and first innings centurion Sachin Tendulkar (24) ensured that there were no more hiccups until play ended on Day 4.
However, for opener Jaffer the Chittagong Test remains a dreadful experience as he notched up a pair, which means he picked up ducks in both innings of the Test match. He was out bowled for a first ball duck in the first innings and now he was out for zero off the third ball he faced.

First Test, Chittagong, day four (close): India 387-8 dec & 44 for 2 v Bangladesh 238 all out

India Bangladesh First Test, Day Three: Rain prevents play

May 20, 2007

India were set to start day three of the first Test on 384-6 but play was abandoned before a ball was bowled.
Mahindra Dhoni (36) and Anil Kumble (1) will hope for better weather on Monday, but the forecast is not promising.
Inclement weather over the port city also forced last Tuesday's third and final one-day international to be abandoned without a ball being bowled, and with the first Test now almost certain to end in a draw, the series hangs on the second and final Test to be played in Dhaka from May 25.

First Test, Chittagong, day three (no play): India 384-6 v Bangladesh

India Bangladesh First Test, Day Two: Rain delays play for 5-1/2 hours

May 19, 2007

Sachin Tendulkar took his world record Test hundreds total to 36 as India progressed to 384-6 on a rain-shortened second day against Bangladesh. Tendulkar was beaten to three figures by Sourav Ganguly but went on to make 101 before he was caught as he tried to pull a ball from Shahadat Hossain.
Ganguly had earlier been dismissed for exactly 100 after the pair had shared a fourth wicket stand of 189.
Only 20 overs were possible in the day with play only starting at 4.30pm.
Play on the second day of the first cricket Test between India and Bangladesh began after a 5-1/2 hour delay due to rains. Play was not possible in both the morning and post-lunch sessions due to a soaked outfield caused by overnight and morning rains.

First Test, Chittagong, day two (close): India 384-6 v Bangladesh

India Bangladesh First Test: India dominant on first day

May 18, 2007

India finished the first day of the first test match dominantly placed at 295 for the loss of 3 wickets in 77 overs. Four out of the top five batsmen scored half centuries with Sachin Tendulkar and Sourav Ganguly unbeaten on 80 and 82 respectively.
The visitors decided to bat first after winning the toss but got off to the worst possible start when Mashrafe Mortaza bowled Jaffer for a first-ball duck. However, after that Karthik and Dravid did not give the host bowlers much to cheer about as they added 113 runs for the second wicket. At lunch Karthik was unbeaten on 52 off 83 balls with eight fours while his skipper was not out on 52 that came off 72 balls with the help of 10 fours.
But the duo falied to continue with their good work after the lunch with Karthik falling for 56 and 11 balls later Dravid followed him in to the pavilion. While Karthik was caught by Mohammad Ashraful to become the second victim of Mortaza, Dravid was caught by Khaled Mashud for 61 off Shahadat Hossain.
Reported Earlier: Sachin Tendulkar sparkled in the post-lunch session in the Chittagong Test against Bangladesh as India reached a comfortable 181 for 3 in 46 overs at the tea break on the opening day.
Tendulkar had moved on to 35 off 51 balls and giving him company was left hander Sourav Ganguly who looked sedate on 16.
The veteran duo was involved in an unbroken 49-run stand for the 4th wicket as India added 68 runs in the second session in 21 overs.
Having resumed at 113 for 1 at lunch, India lost captain Rahul Dravid for 61 and Dinesh Kaarthick for 56 in quick succession with Shahadat Hossain and Mortaza picking up the wickets.
Tendulkar batted with authority and struck four boundaries during his stay while Ganguly scored only two fours.
Reported Earlier: India won the toss and choose to bat on a pitch that promises a run fest.
Surprisingly, VVS Laxman failed to find a place in the playing eleven. Apart from him, Yuvraj Singh and Rajesh Powar also failed to make the cut. An injured Munaf Patel is also missing form the scheme of things for India.
After winning the toss, Indian skipper Rahul Dravid said: "It looks a very good wicket, it might take on some slow turn later on. RP Singh and VRV Singh are playing, Munaf Patel is unfortunately injured."
His views were echoed by the Bangladeshi captain: "It looks like a good batting track. But if you bowl in the right line and length, we can come to the party. Mortaza is back."
India team : K D Karthik, W Jaffer, R Dravid, S R Tendulkar, S C Ganguly, M S Dhoni, R R Powar, Z Khan, A Kumble, V R V Singh, R P Singh
Bangladesh team : Javed Omar, Shahriar Nafees, Habibul Bashar, Saqibul Hasan, Mohammad Ashraful, Enamul Haque jnr, Mashrafe Mortaza, Khaled Mashud, Mohammad Rafique, Shahadat Hossain, Rajin Saleh

First Test, Chittagong, day one (close): India 295-3 v Bangladesh

India Bangladesh First Test: India may field top five bowlers

May 18, 2007

India will consider playing five bowlers to beat the oppressive heat and humidity when they take on Bangladesh in the first cricket Test.
The tourists declined to name even a shortlist of 12 as they debated the virtues of dropping a top order batsman to accommodate a fifth bowler on the dry wicket at the Ruhul Amin stadium.
"We'll keep the opposition guessing 'til the toss," captain Rahul Dravid told reporters yesterday after a two-hour training session under energy-sapping conditions.
"The heat is obviously a big factor. We could play five bowlers to ensure that no one is unduly burdened." Temperatures are expected to touch 38 degrees Celcius over the next week with 92 per cent humidity even as the port city gears for the advancing monsoon rains.
A five-man attack would comprise two seamers and three spinners, with off-break bowler Ramesh Powar and debutant left-armer Rajesh Pawar supporting veteran spin spearhead Anil Kumble.
India will need to axe two of the seven specialist batsmen in Wasim Jaffar, Dinesh Karthick, Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar, Saurav Ganguly, Venkatsai Laxman and Yuvraj Singh to play a fifth bowler.
Bangladesh, meanwhile, named three left-arm spinners in their 12, although only one among Enamul Haque and rookie Mehrab Hossain is expected to play alongside the experienced Mohammad Rafique.
India team (from): Rahul Dravid (Captain), Wasim Jaffer, Dinesh Karthick, Venkatsai Laxman, Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly, Yuvraj Singh, Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Anil Kumble, Zaheer Khan, Vikram Rajvir Singh, Ramesh Powar, Rajesh Pawar, Munaf Patel, Rudra Pratap Singh.
Bangladesh team (from): Habibul Bashar (Captain), Mohammad Ashraful, Javed Omar, Shahriar Nafees, Saqibul Hasan, Rajin Saleh, Khaled Mashud, Mohammad Rafique, Enamul Haque, Mashrafe Mortaza, Shahadat Hossain, Mehrab Hossain.

India Bangladesh First Test: Bangladesh face tough India test

May 17, 2007

Bangladesh play their first Test series in 13 months this week hoping to take their new-found confidence in one-day cricket to the traditional game.
Bangladesh, who face India in the first Test here from Friday, are still considered novices in the five-day format despite making rapid strides in the shorter version of the sport.
Having finished seventh in the recent World Cup, their best ever showing at the cricket's one-day showpiece, Bangladesh want to prove they are equally adept at playing Tests despite a poor record.
They have won just one of their 44 matches so far since gaining Test status in 2000, against a struggling Zimbabwe in 2005. Their record against other Test nations besides Zimbabwe is dismal ? 35 losses in 36 games with one draw. "We are still learning the art of Test cricket," said captain Habibul Bashar, who has played in 42 of his country's 44 matches and is their leading scorer with 2,838 runs.
"It's only been one-day cricket for us over the past year. We have not played Test matches in that period and it will be tough to adjust quickly. But we will do our best."
Bangladesh's last Test series was in April 2006 when they hosted Australia for two matches. They lost both although Bashar's men almost pulled off an incredible win over the world champions during the first Test.
Bangladesh made 427 batting first and reduced Australia to 93-6 before Adam Gilchrist hit a century to take the total to 269.